The Magic Part Of A Story

An essay comparing The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, The adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, and Edger Allen Poe’s life.

Submitted:Feb 13, 2013
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The Magical Part of the Story

In the 1800's American literature's one of the main
focuses in on friendship, and how it helps a person be the best
he can be. A good friend or even a bad friend can make a person
reach his potential. In the novels The Scarlet Letter, The
Crucible, The adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, and even in
Edger Allen Poe's dark work friend help one accomplish his best,
either by helping them succeed in things, or fail. A person
learns from his mistakes, and never repeats it again.

In the novel The Adventures Of huckleberry Finn two
types of friendships are shown, good, and bad. When Huck decided
to ran away from his drunken father, and escape his misery, he
learned some valuable lessons from his father. He was independent
and all by himself when he reached the island. He knew how to
fish, how to light a fire, and even how to set traps. There he
met his old friend Jim, who was running away too. Jim said "Ole
missus -dat's Miss Watson-she pecks on me all de time, en treats
me pooty rough, but she alwuz said she wouldn' sell me down to
Orleans…. [o]ne night creeps to de do' pooty late, en de do'
warn't quite shet, en I heard old missus tell de wider she gwyne
to sell me down to Orleans" (43). He didn't want to be sold as a
slave anywhere, so he knew he had to get away from that village.
When he met Huck on the island, he was relieved, and they had
adventures together. Huck helped Jim, and Jim helped Huck in many
situations. Whenever Jim got into troubles, and was about to get
caught, Huck made up a story to protect Jim from others, and Jim
kept telling Huck "…but lawsy how you did fool 'em, Huck! ... I
tell you, child, I 'spec it save 'ole Jim -- ole Jim ain't going
to forgit you for dat, honey" (91). Every person Huck met in his
adventures, good, or bad helped him in a way. They offered him
food, water, and some valuable information regarding to where he
was going, or what he was trying to find. When he was trying to
find a specific city, he went dressed up as a girl, and he met a
nice woman in town. Her name was Mr. Judith, she was new to town,
but she still tried to help him. She offered him some new
clothes, some food, and information. She told him something that
saved Jim from getting caught, she said that there was a reward
of money for whoever catches Jim, and she saw smoke coming from
the island, so she believed he was hiding there. Huck hurried
back to Jim, and told him "Git up and hump yourself, Jim! There
ain't a minute to lose. They're after us!" (61). Huck saved Jim's
life many times, and Jim was very thankful for that.

There are even examples of friendship that was killing a person,
The Scarlet letter is based on religion, however, there
are some types of friendship involved. The main friendship is of
Chilingworth and Dimesdale. When Chilingworth came back from his
job that he was gone for ages, he found out that Hester, his
wife, had an affair with other man, and he promised her he will
get revenge on him. When Chilingworth was trying to find out who
was the man, Hester didn't tell him, he told her "Yet fear not
fear him! Think not that I shall interfere with Heaven's own
method of retr8bution, or, to my own loss, betray him to the
gripe of human law. Neither do thou imagine that I shall contrive
aught against his life…. Let him live! Let him hide himself in
outward honor, if he may! Not the less he shall be mine!" (70).
He knew she wouldn't tell him who he was, so he decided to find
out on his own. When he found out that Dimesdale was the one, he
cursed him, and wished him all the worst. Dimesdale became even a
better person thanks to Chilingworth. "While thus suffering under
bodily disease… the Revered Mr. Dimesdale had achieved a
brilliant popularity in his sacred office…. His intellectual
gifts, his moral perceptions, his power of experiencing and
communicating emotion, were kept in a state of preternatural
activity by the pick and anguish of his daily life" (93). He got
to be the best he can be, everyone looked up to him, and he was
one of the most famous people in the Utopian town.

In The Crucible Proctor and Abigail are friends, and
Abigail accused people of witchery, including Proctor. John
Proctors life was at risk because if a person was a witch, he was
hanged. She also accused his wife, Elizabeth, of witchery and she
was going to be killed. Proctor told Abigail "If you do not free
my wife tomorrow, I am set and bound to ruin you, Abby" (151).
When it is John's turn to die, judge Danforth gives John a last
chance to live by writing his name on a piece of paper that he
was dealing with witchery, and he confessed. He knew he already
lost everything he had -his wife, money, and his house- but he
didn't want to lose his name and honor. When he ripped the paper,
he yelled "I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence
but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the
church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is
enough!" (142). When the judge starts arguing with him that he
needs the paper signed for forgiveness, he cries "…it is my name!
Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign
myself to lies! ...How may I live without my name? I have given
you my soul; leave me my name!" (143). He gave everyone who died
because of being a "witch" honor. Even though not everyone kept
their name, they still died from a huge mistake, and everybody
knew it.

Even in a dark person as Edger Allen Poe, there are some examples
of friendship, mostly bad. He was usually drunk, or in a bad
mood. In his story The Black Cat he shows how he treated
his pets that he considered as friends. "Pluto… was my favorite
pet and playmate. I alone fed him…. It was even with difficulty
that I could prevent him from following me through the streets….
Our friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during
which my general temperament and character… experienced a radical
alteration for the worse…. My pet, of course, were made to feel
the change in my disposition" (2). Once when he got home drunk,
he saw his cat and it annoyed him that he took a knife and cut
out one of the cats' eyes. From that day, his cat didn't got
close to him, so he decided to kill the poor beast. Later on he
found another cat that looked just like Pluto; he decided to take
it home. One day the cat annoyed him to, so he decided to kill
it. While he was raising his arm to kill the cat, his wife saw
it. He had no choice but to kill her too, and the cat ran away.
He walled his wife, and when the police came, "I quivered not in
a muscle. My heart beat calmly as that of one who slumbers in
innocence. I walked the cellar from end to end" (6). His
character has changed, he started not to fear anything he has
done, nor was about to do. He was satisfied with what he has done
to his wife, and his cat.

As Athenaeus said "Old wood is best to burn, old wine is to
drink, old friend to trust, and old authors to read". Friends can
sometimes be bad, and sometimes be good; sometimes betray, and
sometimes help. The most important thing is to never be left
alone, without a person to be by your side, a person can become
really depressed, and never succeed in life. Without Ralph Waldo
Emerson, those novels wouldn't have been published, nor written.
He inspired people to write, he also found transcendentalism, or
see the whole picture, not only the bad. He showed everyone that
where they live, either in bad place or good, there is something
happening at other places.